Red numbers were all over the leaderboard during round one of the FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship. Out of the 144-player field, 58 broke par for the day, and 15 carded rounds of 68 or better. The top of the leaderboard is crowded, with Carley Cox Pruette, Samantha Vodry, and Maddie Szeryk all tied at the top after turning in 6-under rounds to start their tournaments.

Cox Pruette found out she was in the tournament just 24 hours before she teed off, making her the last player in the field for the week. The 28-year-old has good memories and experience at Battle Creek Country Club, making her first professional start at the course. The experience paid off as Cox Pruette made her way around bogey-free, adding six birdies onto the card. Because of her ranking on the priority list, she has only played in one event prior to this week and is now playing with house money heading into the second round.

“I just kind of feel at home on the course, and that's a weird thing to say,” said Cox Pruette. “Just got some good memories here, and I've made some good connections and friends here. So, it’s always good to return back, and yeah, I just love the course. It just fits my eye well, so it definitely helps when you get that last-minute call.”

Vodry was paired with Cox Pruette during round one and matched her score when 18 holes of play were concluded. The day included seven birdies and only one bogey, with all seven birdies coming in a 12-hole stretch. Posting low opening rounds is not new to Vodry, who carded the lowest round of the 2024 season during round one of the Carlisle Arizona Women’s Golf Classic. With confidence high and an early tee time in round two, Vodry is ready to get back onto the course.

“On the first hole, I was punching out of the trees, so that was not a good start, but I saved par, so that was a good momentum builder,” said Vodry. “Then just gave myself a lot of looks on the greens and was rolling them really pure, so some of them dropped. It was really nice.”

Szeryk put up the number to chase early in the morning, getting around Battle Creek Country Club bogey-free with six birdies. The Canadian took advantage of the par fives, making birdie on three out of the four on the course. The 6-under 66 ties her low round of the season and has her on the right track heading into the second round.

“I started with two birdies, so it kind of opened the door for just a really solid day,” said Szeryk. “I've been working a lot on my mental game, too, to just kind of stay steady. You know, there's a lot of golf left and everything, but it's nice to put together a good round.”

Rachel Kuehn and Olivia Schmidt sit one shot back of the leaders after turning in rounds of 67 to start their week. Round two will begin tomorrow at 7:30 a.m. local time with a cut to be made to the top 60 and ties at the conclusion of play.

Three Tied After the First Round of the FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship

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